As a child I liked liver and as an adult I still like liver. At holiday time, I have a minor skirmish with my sister-in-law over the organ meat of the holiday turkey. On one cruise, I happened to mention to the dining room head waiter that i was wondering if liver would be on the menu. It didn't appear on the menu, but I was given a special dinner with liver as the main course. Needless to say I was pleased because I had been told that the crew had had liver at a previous meal and may have eaten all of the liver aboard the ship. This led me to wonder why there is an avoidance of organ meats, such as liver, on ship's menus. It seems that the closer we are to the a species the more emotionally or phylogenetically humans are about consuming it. Well I don't have alot of attachment to cows so I will continue to ask for liver on cruises.

Just got off a cruise on Silversea Silver Explorer and had foie gras on a number of occasions; usually double orders. Of course, the liver meatloaf on the lunch buffet one day was not that well received.

I love Foie Gras and have enjoyed on and off a number of ships. NCL, Celebrity, Oceania, Azamara all have great foie gras appetizers. All in their specialty restaurants. I have never seen it on the regular MDR menu.

Trivia Fact:

What was the first country to ban Foie Gras for animal cruelty reasons?

Nazi Germany:1933 I guess, Adolph liked geese more than people.

OK: Donald is a duck but it's the best I could find on Google images.

Take care,
Mike

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The USA also forbids production of Foie Gras - but in a very unique way.

The US Government forbids the standard foie gras production method as it is considered torture for the ducks and geese who are subjected to it. Even importing fresh foie gras from another country that condones this practice is illegal in the USA.
Strangely, if you first convert that same fresh foreign foie gras into a pate and then put it into a can, the US Government will allow it into the country with no problem.
I fail to understand the reasoning of how the cooking and canning process of the livers reduces the torture the animals had to endure to get them that way.

But it gets even stranger.
Some time ago, a French family very famous for foie gras in France wanted to start a company in America. They were able to find a group of farmers who had studied the brains of ducks and geese. These farmers had identified the parts of the brains that controlled the appetites of the animals. They invented a process involving brain surgery on the ducks and geese, where a super-cold metal probe (minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit) was inserted into a small hole drilled through the skull of the animal.
This probe kills the part of the brain responsible for controlling the animal's appetite.
When the animal awakens from the surgery (and finds a small mountain of corn and other grains in front of him) he proceeds to eat himself to death, coincidentally producing the enlarged liver that we call Foie Gras. The part of his brain that would have stopped him once his belly was full is no longer operating.

When this new company submitted the procedure to the US Government for approval, it was accepted. The US Government folks reasoned that the European system of forcing grain down an animal's throat was torture because it was against the animal's will, where the new French/American system was done with no objection from the animal (after the unfortunate lobotomy).

All fresh Foie Gras legally available in America today is produced using the system outlined above, on a poultry farm in upstate New York. Since most protein items served on cruise ships must be purchased through a US Certified Vendor, this New York producer, called D'Artagnan, is the company that produces and sells the foie gras you eat on your cruise.

I love Foie Gras and have enjoyed on and off a number of ships. NCL, Celebrity, Oceania, Azamara all have great foie gras appetizers. All in their specialty restaurants. I have never seen it on the regular MDR menu.

Take care,
Mike

Mike,
At a wholesale cost of well over US$40 per pound, very few cruise lines have a passenger feeding budget that can accommodate fresh (frozen) Foie Gras in the Dining Room. But I really wish they could.......................

Mike,
At a wholesale cost of well over US$40 per pound, very few cruise lines have a passenger feeding budget that can accommodate fresh (frozen) Foie Gras in the Dining Room. But I really wish they could.......................

One night on our Silver Explorer cruise last month they changed a normal dinner to a buffet as they were anticipating lots of coming and going from the dining room due to animal sightings. One item on the buffet was tournedos rossini; a favorite of mine. I noticed that many people took the filet but left the foie gras behind; I just kept scooping up the foie gras; I think I had five pieces.

I love foie gras but I also love frog legs and yet I have rarely seen them on a cruise ship menu. Those tasty frog gams, cuisses de grenouilles, are so tasty. But the cruise ships don't seem to want to venture into the the offering of the garlic scented frog legs. I for one would consume them along with escargots. The jersey boys of fine cuisine: caviar, foie gras, frog legs and escargot.

Last edited by bonnyprincecharlie; September 6th, 2014 at 09:14 AM.
Reason: add on thought 2

You have become so nicely sophisticated in the last couple of years. I remember when you first came here you were very nice and sociable, but I believe somewhat less experienced in the finer foods.

Eating unusual foods is part of what makes cruising so great.

I have had fois gras on many cruise ships, from Oceania to the chef's dinners on NCL and Holland America - all were delicious. In my opinion it is far better when served not as pate; but rather as a piece of freshly grilled meat.

Funny to say "Americans don't like liver" - because that is true today, but up until I was about 25 (in 19xx) it was a very common meal and served in most restaurants including regular coffee shops. It is very rich in complex vitamin B and protein. Normally, calves liver is not infused with fat like fois gras, though. I used to eat it all the time. It also used to be one of the "meals of the week" in a lot of American homes back in the 1950s - the one that kids hated the most (along with Brussels sprouts).

Ironically, if you want Frog's Legs I see them on the menu on Carnival almost every time I cruise with them, and they are good. (talk about something literally tasting like chicken).

The current Carnival menus indeed have frog legs one night, as well as braised rabbit, alligator fritters, oysters rockefeller on other nights. Rabbit is another meat that people shy from because of the 'easter bunny' effect, but I like it. Very lean and mild tasting, and yes, it also reminds many of chicken although it is actually leaner than chicken.

You have become so nicely sophisticated in the last couple of years. I remember when you first came here you were very nice and sociable, but I believe somewhat less experienced in the finer foods.

Eating unusual foods is part of what makes cruising so great.

I have had fois gras on many cruise ships, from Oceania to the chef's dinners on NCL and Holland America - all were delicious. In my opinion it is far better when served not as pate; but rather as a piece of freshly grilled meat.

Funny to say "Americans don't like liver" - because that is true today, but up until I was about 25 (in 19xx) it was a very common meal and served in most restaurants including regular coffee shops. It is very rich in complex vitamin B and protein. Normally, calves liver is not infused with fat like fois gras, though. I used to eat it all the time. It also used to be one of the "meals of the week" in a lot of American homes back in the 1950s - the one that kids hated the most (along with Brussels sprouts).

Ironically, if you want Frog's Legs I see them on the menu on Carnival almost every time I cruise with them, and they are good. (talk about something literally tasting like chicken).